Christmas Fruitcake

My sisters and I always joke about getting Gramma a fruit cake for Christmas. But now gramma requests this one. She loves it. And says that it is better after it sits for a few days. I made her two and she said the second one was better because it had time to ferment. Thanks!!!

Karen, thanks for standing up for fruitcake!! Indeed, this is nothing like the heavy brick of fruitcake that comes in a cardboard box. I've found that the best way to get people to try this delicious cake is to not tell them it's a fruitcake. Call it cake or molasses cake or gingerbread or whatever. Once they try it, you can admit the truth-- it's fun to watch the reactions. The only significant change I'd suggest to this fabulous recipe is to let sit for longer if you can. If you can make the cake a year in advance, do so. Just store it per the recipe and add a bit rum every month or so, and you'll be treated to an amazing dessert when the time is right. Anyone who enjoys this recipe should also consider making Simnel cake, typically served at Eastertime. It's a different sort of fruitcake, made with marzipan, and equally delicious. Additionally, I'd suggest substituting Demerara sugar for brown sugar, if possible. Demerara sugar isn't much more expensive, and it's often found in regular grocery stores next to the other sugars. It is a light brown sugar with larger crystals, and it provides a stickier texture and a really rich aroma.

The worst thing about this cake, is that it goes so fast. I make this cake every year but now I double it. The first time I made it, I was careful to use the exact fruits the recipe called for, but now I use the exact measurment for fruit, but use my favorite dried fruit. I really love this recipe! Update: I see I reviewed this twelve years ago. I have used a variety of different fruit over the years and it turns out great every time. I must admit one thing though. It's never made it to the ten week mark. I don't know how the aging effects the flavor. I know it's really good the next day and maybe a little better in a week or two.

Very tasty! This was my first attempt at a fruitcake so I was quite anxious to unvail it and try it after it's 10 weeks of resting. Wow, is it good! I respected the recipe in it's measurements but did mess around a bit with the ingredients themselves only because I live in France and certain items are not readily available, like dried mango and dried cranberries. I did have dried cherries on hand and I added dried apricots in place of the mango. I also swaped walnuts for the pecans, once again an availability issue. But the recipe lends itself nicely to these kinds of modifications. It slices best if chilled a bit, then be sure to use a sharp knife. It's not a "pretty" cake but a plate with thin slices nicely arranged accompanied by a pot of strong coffee is a moment to remember! Merry Christmas!

I didn't have time 70 days to mature, only 17 days, but the cake came out excellent. My relatives love it. Now I know why the portion is so small, because the cake is so rich! Yum, Yum.

This Christmas cake is absolutely wonderful. I've made several, have substituted the mango with Papaya, raisins, etc. and it still turns out perfect. This is the best all around fruit cake I have ever made.

I make this every year. It is by far the best recipe I have ever found. I can't always find the dried fruit that it calls for and instead use 3/4 c. of what ever mixed dried fruit that I can find. This definately gets better with age, if it lasts that long!

I simply LOVE fruitcake and this fruitcake recipe is simply one of the best I have tried! I used dates, dried pineapple, dried mangoes, dried papaya, sultanas, dried cranberries, dried cherries and just a little bit of candied citron. A few things I did differently was to sprinkle the fruitcakes with brandy plus honey (equal amounts) instead of plain rum while they were still in the pans and I let them cool in the pans covered by a cheese cloth to trap in the steam. This I think made them really moist. I baked a couple of batches on November 1 and brushed the cakes with the brandy and honey every week for four weeks and let them mellow. Two days before Christmas, I glazed a few of the cakes with a mixture of pineapple juice and corn syrup which I boiled and simmered till thick and sticky. This was also the time I decorated the tops with some walnuts and additional dates. I purposely omitted adding any nuts into the cake mixture because I was planning to save one or two of the cakes and let it continue to age for Christmas 2012 but at the rate the cakes are disappearing, I doubt if the five cakes I made will make it through the New Year. Wow, they were so delicious!

this recipe is great! I started making it 2 years ago and now I'm getting orders from impatient friends who are having trouble waiting till x-mas. the only thing I changed is I refuse to put any of that yucky citron in it. what a great recipe !

I could not stop eatting this...I like fruit cake, but I loved this recipe...I soaked it in white wine instead of rum though and it gave it a great flavor

No store-bought fruitcake can compare to this! I made enough to give as gifts, and now it's all anyone wants from me! Even people who "hated" fruitcake loved this recipe, and I'm planning on making it again this year, times 8 or so.

This is an excellent recipe. The cake comes out light, moist and delicious. If you don't like the dreaded dense brick of a fruitcake that is sold at christmas time you will definitely like this one. Try it.

I guess I'm not sure why this recipe is so popular. I used an egg replacer and it rose fine, but the molasses is so strong that it ruined it for me. It's almost like a strong Boston Brown Bread. I will say it was easy but I'm not giving this one to anyone.

Amazing! Used currants, cranberries, some blueberries, golden raisins, cherries, pecans and orange rind.

This is the best fruit cake ever! Thanks for sharing

I did not have 6 inch round cake pans, so I doubled the recipe and split it between two regular size loaf pans (8.5 x 4).

It's great.. in one word. The only thing that I did not like was how small a portion this recipe makes. Given how fast the cake disappears, I would start with at least the double of this. I did make some changes - like i used orange peels and apricots instead of citrons and cherries just because we like those better. I dont think it matters as long as you keep teh quantity of fruit approx the same.

I'm not personally a fan of fruitcake, but my parents are and I made this cake for them and it was eaten in about ten minutes between the two of them. So, I've started making them now for Christmas gifts. They're very excited!

Very easy recipe and simply delicious. Instead of a bake tin, I used a muffin tray to have mini fruit cakes. Very easy to serve and not crumbly as I don't need to slice it. Served with a small dollop of ice cream it's so beautiful!

I loved this recipe. I made it several years ago to give as gift. I made then in mini loaf pans and gave them out. Everyone ranted about of moist they were. The cakes were so good that when I lost teh recipe I came back here looking for it a full 2 years later. Great Job!

I couldn't find any citron, so I skipped it. I also only had spiced rum (Sailor Jerry) so that's what I used. I also didn't know you were supposed to let fruitcake sit around for weeks/months before eating it... so I only had 7 weeks before Christmas to let it sit. Having said all that, the person I made it for said it was fantastic, and wants it again next year. For never having made fruitcake before, this was easy enough, and everyone enjoyed the taste. I think I'll make sure not to use spiced rum next time, though, because Sailor Jerry pretty much dominated the cake.

I doubled the recipe to make a 9.5X3 round. I used whetver fruit I had on hand(walnuts,cranberries,raisins,currants and golden raisins). I did not think mango would quite go with cake. I soaked the fruit in Apricot flavoured brandy instead of rum for 3 days and used 4 cups of that (doubled the original recipe). Did not have molasses on hand so substituted honey. Next time I am going to try adding some treacle as well for the color and deep flavor. I made this cake for my mom-in-law's birthday. Topped it with lightly sweetened whipped cream which was a nice contrast to the dense cake and garnished it with orange slices. Everybody LOVED it. The cake turned out to be rich,moist and delicious. This recipe is a keeper.

This is so yummy I can't believe it. My family doesn't like fruit cake and when they heard that I was making some for Christmas they weren't too pleased. Not listening to them I decided to try this fruitcake, the only change I did was I used brandy instead of rum, and it was amazing. Everyone loved it and couldn't believe that fruitcake could be so yummy. This is going to be my one and only fruitcake recipe.... yum yum....

Well, I did not try to make it yet but I definately going to make it. Sounds right. First I try Fruit Cake when I was living in South Africa, they make it in DELY of all groceries, I loved it and was buying the cake every week to enjoy it during my working week. Then I relocated to the US, Florida, and was surprised by seeing the Fruit cake in Publix... Then I've surprised again because I just throw the cake away. It was so bad with all these fake fruits and sickly sweet. Never will buy it again. But I still like the cake I used to buy in South Africa and start looking for recepies online. Thank you, Karen. I am going to make it and will back to you.

Okay, so far I've only sneaked one bite, but I can already say that this cake is divine! I made it today after soaking the fruit for only 15 hours. I think 15 hours was just fine, as all of the alcohol had been absorbed. Also, I used Grand Marnier to soak the fruit in, simply b/c I had forgotten to buy dark rum. I quadrupled the recipe and used a variety of pans and dishes - from a small loaf pan to a few ramekins. Baking time varied from about 40mins for the smaller ramekins to 1 hour for the loaf pan. I still need to get the rum, so the cakes are waiting until tomorrow, when I'll sprinkle on the rum and wrap in cheesecloth and parchment. I can say that I won't be ageing the cakes for 10 weeks as called for in the recipe, but I am definitely planning on ageing them for a few weeks until I ice them and send them to friends and family as gifts. I'll post an update then. But I can already say this cake is superb!

I love this cake. I've received a number of compliments on it as well. We have it all year and use whatever dried fruit we fancy. (I omit candied fruit though.) I prefer to use brandy instead of the rum, though I've had success with both. I also tend to add extra spices such as nutmeg and ginger. Always a great cake. I prefer it after at least a week of aging, though some members of the household sometimes sneak into it before. But if you can hide it away, do so as long as possible. It'll be worth it.

I made this fruitcake twice because I made a major mistake the first time, inadvertently using all of the rum in the batter rather than half. The second time I used the correct amount of rum, and cut the butter from 8 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons and cut both the molasses and milk in half. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. The cakes rose nicely and weren't nearly as greasy as the first time.

Tastes just like the fruit cake from Assumption Abbey that William Sonoma used to sell. I would put more liquor in.

Thanks Karen for sharing this fantastic recipe. All my friends and I ( ofcourse) could not stop eating it....yum yum..... The only change I made was I used corn syrup instead of molasses and dismissed the candied citron. Thanks again! I will make it again for next year Xmas and will double the amount :-). Cheers!

Smells delicious can't wait until it's done curing so we can finally taste it!

This is a really good fruitcake recipe using some more exotic fruits. I doubled the recipe though to make a good sized family cake, and yes, it is just like my English wedding cake. Just a little tip though, if you are going to ice this cake and want a nice flat top, make a dip in the middle of the mixture as you put it in the tin. Then it will rise to a level instead of having a hump on the top.

This is only the third year I've made fruitcake, and this is the first time I've used this recipe. It's different than the one I've used the past 2 years; it's seems a little less heavy, for starters. I substituted apricots for the mango, golden raisins for the currents (couldn't find either of the those ingredients). I omitted the citron since I couldn't find it in the store, but I added the zest of one orange. I used spiced rum--it tastes better to me. Of course, I won't know for a couple months how this tastes, but it looked good coming out of the oven, smelled great, and the little bit I snuck off the top tasted pretty good! Give it awhile to blend flavors, YUM! Can't wait! Glad I doubled the recipe!

I made this cake last night for the holidays. The cake came out fine, however, I did not have a 6 x 3 pan & I wanted to be able to put it in a holiday tin, so I baked it in a larger pan and it came out really thin. The only recommendation I can give you is to buy the smaller pan, one that will fit the tin, or line a tin with foil and use that for the pan. I wish I would have doubled the recipe or used a loaf pan, but I was concerned about how I was going to let it sit for 10 weeks if I used a loaf pan. The recipe itself, as I said turned out great, and I am planning on looking for a 3 x 6 pan for my next cake & I will make more as soon as I get the proper size. I not only wrapped mine with cheesecloth which I had on hand because I do a lot of canning, and parchment paper, but I also wrapped it with foil after the parchment paper to keep it moist & fresh. I will use this recipe again using a 'fruitcake mix' that I purchase in the store just because it is easier than measuring out each of the fruit ingredients individulally. I love drinking coffee with it. I also made the other "Fruitcake" w 52 reviews at 'All recipes' as well last year and it 'flopped' for me, however, I am going to give both of these fruitcakes another try asap. If you compare the ingredients you will see the other fruitcake had a lot more flour, and I noticed the difference and how small this one was in comparison FYI. The other was the size of a 'standard' fruitcake, whereas this one was not.

This cake is deeeeliscious!!! Good thing I made four right away because it hasn't been 10 weeks yet and we already ate two loaves. My kids love it too. I found that the molasses was a bit too strong for my liking so I made another batch of 6 (that's how yummy it is) with a combination of dark molasses and a lighter molasses. The batter tasted great but I haven't tried the actual cake cause I am still ageing it. I made two with Brandy and the rest with Rhum. Will update when I finally taste the next batch. Can't wait to serve this for Christmas and New Year. I'm sure my guest will love it too. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

I am a Brit, living in France and I must answer one of the questions that was asked: yes, you must let your cake age as much as possible, and this does mean 10 weeks or more. It's also the same for Christmas Pudding.

Delicious! My first attempt at making fruitcake and it was a hit w/ everyone. I used a mix of raisins, figs, candied cherries, cranberries, and dried pineapple. Mine only got to sit for about 1 week, but it was still yummy! I also made one that wasn't soaked in rum after baking (for my son), and I liked that even better, but hubby and my dad like the rum soaked cake the best. I will def be making this every Christmas from now on~YUM! Thanks for sharing. :)

OMG. I made this today and even the crumbs were wonderful! Made a double batch which gave me 6 mini loaf pans which took @ 45 minutes. (could be my oven). Only change I made was adding in raisins, plums and dates (all my favs). I'm. Going to make another batch tomorrow with brandy&apple cider infused fruit. Can't wait. Thanks for. a great recipe.

I tried this for Christmas and it was simply wonderful. Moist and with a punch. Got rave reviews and my cousins have asked me to bake more! I could not get molasses to I had to use treacle and I omitted the citron but I've never had a more beautiful cake :) Thank you P.S: I have one stored away for Feb when we have visitors!

i made the fruit cake and it was very good but a little dry should I wrap back in cheese cloth soak with burbon?

I made my first review in 2013. My dad kept asking for fruitcake and this was the 3rd recipe I tried. I decided it would also be the last. Definitely double the recipe, but even then it only makes three 6X3 pans. The changes I made were mostly associated with the fruit choices and alcohol. I HONESTLY think any fruit will work, so I chose dried apricots, prunes a few raisins, a bit of pineapple and I cut up frozen cherries. We don't drink alcohol so I soaked the fruits in orange juice for 24 hours, then drained it before adding it to the recipe. Instead of the citron (gross) I simply used grated orange peel and grated lemon peel. I also soaked those in the juice so they would soften. Because I don't use alcohol (I do add a bit of rum flavoring), I don't have to let it sit. We eat one the same day, then store the others in the fridge for my dad's Christmas gift. Until I started making this recipe, I hated fruitcake. Now, I look forward to it almost as much as my dad.

I might be reviewing this recipe prematurely because it's only been out of the oven for an hour, but this is my first attempt at making fruitcake and I'm quite excited about it. Disclaimer! I love this recipe, even though I made some modifications. First, I think you really can use any fruit you want for this recipe. Although I'm sure the original is delicious exactly as it is, it's probably safe to use whatever fruit you have. I used: Candied citron, Currants, Dried papaya (instead of mango), Prunes (instead of cherries due to a food allergy), and Figs (because I had them). I also doubled the recipe. And, to add insult to injury, I made this recipe gluten free. SORRY! For gluten-free, here's my modification (and it worked GREAT!) . Instead of the all purpose flour, I used (remember I doubled the recipe!) 1/4 cup sweet rice flour (Mochiko sweet rice flour) and 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour plus 1 tsp xanthan gum. The cake rose nicely and since I was bad and had a little nibble already, I can say the flavor is wonderful. My cake doesn't look very much like the ones posted. Mine is much darker, so I wonder if my changes were a bit too much, or if I made a mistake somewhere along the way. It's fine though, I think it's perfect. For a more cake-like consistency, I might add an additional 1/4 cup of sorghum flour, but I'm pretty new to gluten-free baking too so someone with more experience might want to comment. Thank you for the yummy recipe!

I have been making this fruitcake for the past several years. Everyone loves it! Best after several weeks. Any mix of dried fruit is good. Cut the butter to a scant half cup (about 3/8 cup) as I found that the butter came out of the cake during baking. Very rummy. Keeps well for many weeks but only if you hide it and forget about it. Yum!

Wait 7 weeks?? What? Not in my house! It was GONE the next day! To be fair, I had some left over rum soaked dried fruits already ready to go. I used coconut oil and maple syrup/molasses mix, no brown sugar. I had to add a bit more flour (not much at all) and Voila! I am making another batch this morning and it will be gone by tonight! Christmas in Spring!!!

This cake is excellent! When finished the cake is moist, not overpowered by the fruit and keeps for a long time too. If you like a darker fruit cake, add 1 teaspoon of browning or more molasses. You can also soak your fruit in orange juice if you don't want the alcohol and the cake is just as delicious. Don't be afraid to add more fruit if you like, it will not spoil the recipe.

I tried a corner before wrapping for the aging process: delish! My first time both eating and making fruitcake and this tasted like rum-y caramel-y goodness! I left out raisins, as I don't like them, and added almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts. Can't wait to try it after the mellowing. PS. My BF suggested I call it something other than fruitcake so people will actually eat it. LOL.

This is an extremely rich and decadent recipe! I used heaping portions of my favorite dried fruits and maraschino cherries, left out the citron, and used walnuts instead of pecans. After tasting the batter, I decided to kick up the spices and add 1/4 tsp. each ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. It came out moist and spice cake-ish after aging - the only negative was that it was very buttery/brown sugary tasting, and no one could eat more than a little bite at a time. Will have to do some more testing.

This may be a premature rating since the cake is just now coming out of the oven. It had to bake at least another 15-20 minutes for the toothpick to come out clean. Maybe this was due to liquid from the soaking fruit which I put in since the recipe did not say to drain. There is also a discrepancy for the aging with it showing Ready in 11 Days on the printout, but it shows 70 days on the screen one place and 11 days another place, then the directions say store at least 10 weeks! Really? I used some different dried fruit including pineapple, cherries and a fruit and peel mix which is the combo my mother used for hers. The final test will be for taste which will be when we try it in a couple of weeks.

I cannot fairly rate this because I used way too much rum. I think if I would have only used the 1/4 cup that was called for, it would have been great. I also used heaping measurements of the fruit and nuts. This is a good recipe for DARK fruitcake.

This flavorful cake will be a marvelous edition to my Christmas baking from here on out. It was WELL RECEIVED by everyone who sampled it.

This cake is wonderful. It is everything it was promised to be.

Delicious!! This coming from a hate fruitcake girl.

Although a bit of work, this recipe is well worth it. It made a very tasty fruitcake that had many requests for the recipe. Just about the only thing I did differently was about halfway through the baking time, I gently decorated the top with whole pecans, and whole candied red and green cherries.

I made several cakes from this recipe for Christmas. I alloed them to age for 7 weeks. I had a tester that I would slice into each week to evaluate the flavor. I soaked the fruit in rum for a few days and brushed the finished cake with rum before wrapping it tightly in saran wrap and aluminum foil. I did not have to continually brush the cake as others stated. I left them in a very cool room inside o aluminum tins and they remained moist for the entire 7 weeks. Although the cake can stand on it's own, I did make an almond glaze to spread on top of it. I pretty much stuck to the original recipe; I did ground up almonds and added a 2 tbl spoons to the floor mixture. I used slightly less than the amount of molasses ( I had grandma molasses and they are very dark and strong); And I used an array of dried fruit as well as nuts. Thank you for posting this recipe. It will be my goto fruit cake recipe from now on. I have a ton of dried fruit left over and plan on making several cakes and store them for a year just to see how that will affect the flavor.

This is not your "old school" fruitcake! After researching many recipes, I decided on this one because it included dried fruit rather than the red and green candied stuff we've come to dread. I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but used a variety of dried fruit that I found available and that we enjoy to equal the total amount called for in the recipe. I added 1/8 tsp ground ginger. I doubled the recipe and divided the batter into six aluminum loaf pans. I was surprised that, even after doubling the recipe, that was all it produced. For future reference, if I want to prepare these as gifts, I'll need to increase the recipe or make several batches. Because of the smaller pans, I reduced the baking time to 35 minutes. These little mini-loafs turned out scrumptious! Buttery, not too sweet, just right with the fruit/nut combo, and the perfect amount of rum flavor. I'm looking forward to trying different dried fruit combinations, including dried candied ginger, citron (which I could not easily find) and using Grand Marnier as I've read in other recipes. Definitely a fun specialty project.

I used red wine instead of rum. I also doubled the recipe and baked in an 8.5-inch springform pan for 1.5 hours at 325 degrees. It came out very well. A keeper.

WOW this is the best ever....I double the recipe and just tried the 1st one and all I can say is this is the BEST- I can't wait to try the other 2 - one in June and the other in August..... Making more for gifts....YES it is that GOOD :-) now I am going to kitchen to make more so I have plenty to give as gifts for my rum loving friends :-)

My first Xmas cake and it came out great. Just use different fruits. My husband do not like fruit cake and he loves it. Thank you.

This recipe was fantastic! I loved the way it tasted and it succeeded in filling my belly! Those are really the only two things i enjoy in life so your bread brought me much happiness.

In addition to the cherries and currants and such, I added a little allspice, prunes and an assortment of nuts including hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and Brazil nuts. It turned out amazing, and what was even more amazing was that it even made it to the cake stage, because the batter was so delicious we almost wanted to just eat the whole bowl and forget baking it at all.

I thought it was very good. I didn't change a thing. But I also rushed it this year. I do hope to make it earlier next year.

The fruit cake no longer has a bad rep with this recipe, I've made it multiple times and it goes as quick as it is to make. My family loves it and requests it all the time now!!

I am one of those who never liked fruitcake, but decided to make this recipe. I used dark rum and they turned out wonderful! I didn't realize that it should sit for many weeks, so next time I will make it much earlier. Nonetheless, everyone who tried it (including me) really enjoyed this one!

This is the only fruitcake my husband has ever liked. I have trouble finding currants so I use raisins instead, sometimes golden raisins if they are what I happen to have.

The recipe is super. The cake is really soft and moist. Only one issue, which the fruits tends to sink at the bottom of the cake due to the softness of the cake, cannot hold the fruits at all. I baked 3 times with original recipes and with different shape of pans, results are the same, fruits are all sink at bottom. Therefore, I top up a little flour as compared to the original recipe, from 64g to 90g, the fruits are scattered on the top and bottom of the cake, but the cake is not as soft as the original recipe, but within acceptable softness. Going to try with 80g flour later.

Everyone who tasted this found the cake delicious:) so glad I made it !i did not have any rum so used wine to soak the dried fruits! Still awesome cake ! Made four already :)

Since I live in Mexico an we have no dried cherries or blueberrys in the market, I used dried apricots, dried peaches, raisins, prunes, and dried cranberrys. We have no molasses either so I used maple syrup instead. After soaking it in rum for weeks I cover it in a home made macadamia nut marzipan. The result is amazing!

I made no changes. I cut the fruit to the portions stated and it was such a winner with everyone that I'm making it again this year. This recipe is awesome and easy to make! Of course I added more booze as it sat for a few weeks. Yummmmm

Great recipe! Thanks!

I make multi batch fruit cakes every year using a new recipe most years. This year I used this recipe & it turned out really nice. The only changes I made was I soaked all my fruit in rum for 24 hours so used no rum in the recipe. My multi batch consisted of 8 x this recipe so the only other change I made was that I used half the amount of butter. Thanks for the recipe Karen.

I was very disappointed with this recipe. Another reviewer said it was similar to an Assumption Abbey fruitcake, and as soon as I read that, I was all in. HA! Assumption Abbey's is sweeter, has some candied fruit in it, and has more of everything. Yes, I could have added candied fruit and additional nuts, but I try to always make a recipe as written the first time. But the one thing that really killed this fruitcake was the overage of rum! After 10 weeks of aging, the rum taste (and bite) was still so overwhelming that you could hardly taste anything else. AA's fruitcake does have rum injected in it, but it, in no way, overpowers the fruitcake. This should have been called rum cake. 3 stars only because it was edible, and I didn't want to waste the ingredients, because it was expensive to make.

Wow! Glad I taste-tested this before giving it away! The molasses is AWFUL! Now I have to make more...cutting back on the molasses and substituting Karo corn syrup for some of it...most of it actually...and adding no more rum than what is used to soak the fruit. Fingers Xed!

My family really enjoyed this fruitcake. It is not your typical nasty fruitcake with fake candied fruit. I would definitely make this again.

My family loved this recipe. We had planned to let it sit the customary week or longer but it didn't even last an hour. It was great but I would double or maybe triple it next time.

By the looks of it, there isn't enough fruit and nuts. The best ones are full. I will make the adjustments, but this is a start.

I have a question. Do you have to let the cake cool completely before wrapping it in cheesecloth?

very nice one! its now kept to set but looks fab!

Fantastic. Wonderful flavor and really easy to do. I used up some old dried fruit I had on hand and then picked up a few other things on the ingredient list to finish it off. This year, I started it earlier so it would have more time to proof. What a great recipe. Nice light taste.

Absolutely fantastic. I made about twenty of these last year to give out as gifts, and they were really well received. I had my sister text me recently saying she just found it in the freezer (she couldn't eat it last Christmas so she saved it) and it was delicious. My grandma wants me to make three for her next Christmas. I used Crown Royal for the alcohol, because I had it on hand and the Internet told me you could use a whisky on a fruitcake. I wound up also using different candied fruits, since I didn't have access to the same ones. I figured out the total amount, and substituted the same. I used dried strawberries, blueberries, and organic pineapple (didn't have the extra sugar) along with other ones... I didn't write them all down. Whoops! I also couldn't find candied citron locally, so I made my own candied lemon peels. A pain, but worth it I think! I used demerara brown sugar, which was extra flavourful. If you're making 20 fruit cakes and need a large bowl to soak the fruit in, may I suggest a punch bowl? It works wonderfully! You can also make the cakes over a week, and the fruits won't go bad or anything. Long live the preserving power of alcohol! Thanks for the great recipe, I think I might have to make it again this year.

This is my second year making this rum fruit cake. My parents have always had a family friend make their cake since I was little but now the friend has gotten older they are not able to bake like they used to. I found this recipe last year and followed it to the letter except for the aging part. It was only able to sit for 20 days but it was still such a hit with the family that I decided to make more than one this year. I doubled all the ingredients to make the cakes larger than they were last year and I was not able to make the cakes until the week of Christmas!! We will not eat the cake until tomm (Christmas day) but I did try a little residual that was left in the pan and all I can say is AMAZING!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe

Nice recipe but still too moist after 45 min so added 10. Used Maple syrup instead of molasses.

This is an excellent rendition of a fruitcake. It elevates it from the gummy, candied fruit versions into something that is truly delicious. The good quality fruit is a big part of it. The deep flavor of the molasses is a big component too. This definitely improves with age, so mark your calendar to make this in September. Only difference is I tend to use more rum when soaking the fruit.

I put a lot if rum in there and i must say it was the best decision

Wow!! Made exactly as written and baked in a 9x5 loaf pan. Baked it in September and sprinkled a couple

Not a fan of rum? I'm not either--I use bourbon and it's great!

We LOVE this recipe at our house. Three years ago, I stumbled across this trying to make a surprise fruitcake for my husband for Christmas. He loved it so much that he asked me to bake a few extras for friends last year. This year I made twelve (12) fruitcakes for friends and family across the US and Canada. A couple of things that I do differently: I use a mild flavor molasses (Brand: Brer Rabbit) to cut down on some of the strong molasses taste, I add cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon, I've changed up the fruits that I use with the biggest adjustment being substituting dried pineapple for citron, I've always used brandy instead of rum because I do not like rum and I always have brandy on hand, and this year I had an abundance of bread flour from another baking project which I substituted for all purpose flour. I think that bread flour will be my standard going forward. The extra protein and gluten really absorbed the alcohol well and gave a nice structure so that this was more cake-like and less crumbly than in previous years. An amazing recipe with lots of room for adjustments and experimentation!

Instead of 1/4 cup molasses, I used 1/8 cup molasses, 1/8 cup honey. Instead of 1 6x3 inch loaf, I made 2 2x4 inch loaves (baking time was same @40+ minutes)

LOVED IT! JUST DID NOT LIKE HAVING TO WAIT TO EAT SOME. THIS HAS TO "MARINATE" FOR SOME TIME.

Hands down this recipe is an absolute keeper! I have made fruit cake for decades, and I can say that I am a well seasoned fruit cake baker. With that said, I have tried many recipes throughout the years some good, others OK, others very good, but this one is downright EXCELLENT. This recipe deserves 10 stars as it is also easy, more economical than glazed fruit based cake, and the result is superb! Watch the video before making the cake it is a great help. If you feel the molasses is too strong, try reducing the amount of brown sugar. EDIT: If you feel the molasses flavor is too strong, remember to age the cake, this is crucial to mellow out the flavor.

I followed the recipe to the letter except instead of molasses I used Karo syrup. Had to cook it 1/2 hour longer or it wanted to fall apart. Will taste it on Christmas Days and let you know how it tastes.

I am really excited to try this after it has aged the appropriate time. I didn't add the mango, but added raisins and currants instead.

Gonna bake this for X'mas again.. Everyone asking for more

I agree with everyone else! Best ever! Yum! Thankyou ??

Tried the 1st time and it brought to pieces. Am gonna try again tomoro . Bless me... It tasted nice though

Tried this for the first time over the holidays and it was absolutely delicious and the cake was nice and moist.

Followed the recipe but omitted dried mangoes and used cherries, cranberries, papaya, barberries, dates and pineapple. Also tossed crushed cashew nuts into the batter. Doubled the recipe and was able to fill two 6x2 tin cans. They are now wrapped in parchment paper and aluminum foil to age until Christmas. This is by far the best fruit cake recipe.

I kind of forgot about this in the back of the fridge - we tried it after close to 6 months! It was delicious!!!! Will definitely make this again!

I want to make this Fruitcake. The recipe states it is ready in 11d, however the directions say age the cake for 10 weeks. Karen, would you please clarify this discrepancy. Thanks. Jeanne

I made some changes in fruit, and the flavor is not bad. However, it is a very dark cake because of the molasses and marinated fruit. It looks nothing like the photo. It also is a very wet batter, makes only a half loaf. It's extremely crumbly at the end of the bake. I won't spend time soaking it in rum for 10 weeks, nor will I ever make this again.

I replaced the rum with brandy. I made this several years ago and looked it up to make it again. Aged in the fridge for three months, and 'fortified' it about every three weeks...just a pain trying to explain it isn't ANYTHING like the grocery store variety fruitcake!